ALC Fox

Genuinely a nice shirt, that. Shame about the sponsor of course but it's actually smart. Best of the three by a mile.

Tier 4 source as well. This is the reduced sugar ketchup of transfer rumours.

Fvck me, football is shite. Just loads of high net worth individuals fvcking about. PRS, FFP, Clearlake Capital, King Power, Macquarie Bank, shell companies, multi-club models, tax evasion, points deductions, "I'm alright, Jack" attitudes, Super League, 39th game, World Club Cup nonsense. Fvck me.

He's good but he ain't £150k/week good. We need players, especially good ones, but there are other deals to be done. I like Zaha and he would have given us a great chance but he's one player and there are other deals to be done. Ayew would be disappointing, sure, but I think there will be others in the offing too. PSR/FFP and what have you are moving things around all the time, not just for us. Players not available now could be available in a week if other deals fall down or a club needs to find a few quid. Even if we don't get anyone, hopefully that means Alves is more likely to get a chance. Que sera sera.

They'll try and play. We may not be able to hit a barn door at the moment but they can be got at on the break. Their pace in the back line might be able to cover them a lot of the time but they're often criminally out of position if last season is anything to go by. I'd snap anybody's hand off for an attritional 1-0.

Sounds like a good deal. If we stay up, then chances are he's done well. We then buy a decent PL player for £17m and we kick on with him in the side or some dozy richer club (Chelsea) come in and we make a tidy profit.

Let's have 'em all.

Yeah that's fair enough

Totally agree. For me, if we can rotate between Hlozek, Zaha and/or Iaonnidis in one or two of the main starting spots (Zaha rotating between wide and central positions) then having the option of Vardy as a super sub is such a great weapon. Imagine one or two of the above three battering CBs and full-backs all game long and then Vardy coming on post Red Bull and energy gel to run in behind. Could be so good.

Get this guy in sharpish. We need him - or someone - for Spurs.

We're just not ready are we

Hat-trick against Wolves incoming... Seriously, excellent news. Can't wait to see how he develops, whether that's with us this season or on loan somewhere.

Anyone one with the balls to give some s**t to Galatasaray fans is probably exactly what we need in a fight for survival

I can see it actually. Zaha at his age probably now more of a 9 now but can also help Mavididi along and obtain the kind of consistency that Zaha had before he left Palace. Zaha also drawing fouls as a 9 in the age of over zealous VAR? Yes ****ing please. Also, I've absolutely no reason whatsoever for thinking this, but I just think he and Cooper will get on like a house on fire.

Brighton aren't fools. They're hoovering up talent. They'll want to give the player the best chance of being ready for their first team or at the very least capable of making them some decent profit after the loan has ended. Agreeing an option or obligation now is based on what both clubs would agree his valuation is now, which is uncertain. It's entirely probable that they still really like him and just want him to get more minutes so he can slot in when some of their more experienced players leave.

Alves is going to be around the first-team squad all season long, that much is clear. At the moment Buonanotte is the more developed and experienced player but there's nothing to say that both couldn't play in the same team at some point. Let Alves develop without too much pressure and without overly risking a breakdown thanks to his previous injury. He'll get minutes over the course of the season and a chance to impress, surely. If we stay up thanks to Buonanotte's contribution and Alves is first XI-ready at the start of 25/26, that's probably the ideal solution, right?

Good keeper, seems a waste for a second-choice which could indicate Mads is on his way. I love Mads and would prefer to see him as our keeper but - if we have to - I wouldn't be against having Johnstone as our #1 with Mads sold to bring in a load more cash to spend to strengthen the squad. It would definitely represent a departure from last season's style of play though. I'd like us to play nice football if I had a choice but survival by any means has to be the #1 priority.

Re Elon Musk: Aside from all the anti-Starmer shite he's been peddling, he's also been bigging up the apparent fact that X/Twitter is now the number one source of news in the UK. Now, I'm not a conspiracy nut, but it's occurred to me that since time immemorial most news is bad news. It attracts way more attention than positive news stories. With that in mind, as the owner of X/Twitter, Musk has a vested financial interest in keeping as many eyes on his platform as possible. Could stoking the fire as he has been doing just be another attempt at increasing his already obscenely vast wealth? Let's also take into account that, hopefully, this Labour government will attempt to extract more tax from the extremely wealthy in our society. It's absolutely no surprise that Musk is anti-Starmer. How many powerful media moguls have been to the left of centre? Certainly not Rothermere, Murdoch, and now Musk.

I don't think it would be unreasonable to expect to make a profit on Kristiansen in fairness, considering what he achieved last season. The rest, 100%.

Are Marseille just after all the forwards? They've already signed Greenwood and they're still in for Nketiah aren't they?

Proof that you can market yourself as one thing but actually be something else entirely. The only thing 'premium' about Castore is the partnerships it has with sports clubs and sportspeople. As has been long documented, the quality of their clobber most certainly isn't.

First season at Chelsea I liked his movement from what little I've seen of him. It's tempting to say that if he can't get ahead of Jackson then he's no good but Jackson is very close to being an excellent striker. His misses are extremely comical though. Fofana seems slower and a bit more physical but finds space quite well. Feels like he needs a home where he's the main guy, where he can be given a few starts to get into things before his confidence swells and he starts to realise his promise. To be honest, we've turned players written off who need a home into club legends before (Albrighton, Huth, Simpson, Schmeichel, for example). All the negative chat makes me want him to do well even more.

Oh man seeing this tagged with a Tier 4 source has made me feel sooo much better about it, even though I already knew it came from that wally Nixon.

Indeed

Every time I think about this I want to cry. I'm hoping for huge Shakey chants against Tottenham. And a "staying up for Shakespeare" spirit throughout the season.